Price driven multimedia content video time-bandwidth product improvement (vtbpi) transmission

ABSTRACT

An apparatus can include an external interface, a video aggregator, and a system controller. The external interface can receive multimedia content directed to a plurality of customer premises equipment. The video aggregator can multiplex the multimedia content directed to the plurality of customer premises equipment. The system controller can electronically deliver the multiplexed multimedia content, within a scheduled lead-time, in response to a subscriber request to electronically deliver the multimedia content to a particular customer premises equipment from the plurality of customer premises equipment. A subscriber content price of the multiplexed multimedia content can be based on the scheduled lead-time of electronic delivery.

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/150,829, entitled “Enhanced Video and Advertising Aggregation andDistribution”, filed on Apr. 21, 2015, to Hirsch et al., the entirety ofwhich is expressly incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus forscheduling electronic delivery of multimedia content and advertisementstargeted to customer premises equipment. More particularly, the presentdisclosure is directed to scheduling, pricing, and deliveringsubscriber-selected, preplanned multimedia content and advertisementstargeted to customer premises equipment.

2. Introduction

Traditional television viewing is linear. With linear televisionviewing, a viewer must watch scheduled television programs at aparticular time and on a particular channel. However, the entertainmentindustry is in transition and content consumers are moving topersonalized programming or nonlinear television. Personalizedprogramming allows the content consumer to control content selection andviewing time. True personalized programming allows content customers toview whatever they want, whenever they want, as often as they want, andin an order that the content consumers desire. However, presenttechnology offers content consumers a limited personalized programmingexperience with restricted selection and/or high prices. Such presenttechnology includes Over-The-Top (OTT) streaming, Internet ProtocolTelevision (IPTV), and Video on Demand (VOD) capability.

OTT streaming is delivered over the Internet, but is unmanaged. Contentdelivery is plagued by “last mile” congestion. This problem isencountered with non-Quality of Service (QoS) streaming. As streaminghas increased, especially during periods of peak demand or prime time,congestion impact has become worse. Such congestion occurs with any overutilized, unmanaged, data rate limited, network system. IPTV aremultimedia services, such as television or video, delivered over managedIP based networks which provide the required level of Quality of Service(QoS) and experience, security, interactivity and reliability. From theconsumer's viewpoint, IPTV has limited selection and is expensive.

Demand for content distribution with respect to available transportvaries as a function of time, consisting of peaks and valleys.Traditionally, supply and demand issues have been addressed by applyingthe principles of microeconomics based on supply and demand pricingtheory. However, applying such microeconomics has not solved problemsassociated with content delivery.

Stand Definition (SD), High Definition (HD) and Ultra High Definition(UHD or 4K), or higher resolution formats present increasinglysignificant problems for existing network infrastructure andsignificantly higher price to content consumers. Such high resolutionformats are limited because of data rate constraints and subscriberaggregate data limits. By 2018, the number of households using streaminghas been projected to increase to 50% and beyond. Even with the currentrelatively low percentage of streaming, peak time network congestion iscausing video disruption, such as video pixilation, synchronizationproblems, freeze frames, etc. This video disruption will be furtheredexacerbated as more households move to content streaming, higherresolution video, and as additional real-time services are furtheremployed.

Advertising can be used as a subsidized approach to both linear andpersonalized programming streaming. However with currentadvertising/content ratios, bandwidth required to additionally transmitadvertising content is increased by as much as 50%. Other challengesthat effect high impact advertising exist for both linear andpersonalized programming. Currently, advertisers have traditionallysubsidized content production and distribution through advertisements(for example, commercials). This approach has a limited capability totarget an audience segment. Advertisers are unable to targetadvertisements to individuals or cluster groups except by relying onassociated program content. Currently, commercial selection andinsertion is dependent on the targeted audience of the content ratherthan the targeted audience of the commercial. True, direct measures ofadvertisement effectiveness do not exist. Changing commercialson-the-fly to reflect changes in consumer content viewing habits isdifficult. Also, it is extremely difficult to measure the impact ofon-the-fly advertising on individual subscribers, cluster groups, and/orgeographic areas based on selected advertising profiles.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

The disclosure is directed to a method and apparatus that can include anexternal interface, a video aggregator, and a system controller. Theexternal interface can receive multimedia content directed to aplurality of customer premises equipment. The video aggregator canmultiplex the multimedia content directed to the plurality of customerpremises equipment. The system controller can electronically deliver themultiplexed multimedia content, within a scheduled lead-time, inresponse to a subscriber request to electronically deliver themultimedia content to a particular customer premises equipment from theplurality of customer premises equipment, with a subscriber contentprice of the multiplexed multimedia content being based on the scheduledlead-time of electronic delivery.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

In order to describe the manner in which advantages and features of thedisclosure can be obtained, a description of the disclosure is renderedby reference to specific embodiments thereof which are illustrated inthe appended drawings. These drawings depict only example embodiments ofthe disclosure and are not therefore to be considered to be limiting ofits scope.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example multimedia system, in accordance with oneor more possible embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates example interoperability of components of amultimedia delivery system, according to one or more possibleembodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates an overall block diagram of the example multimediadelivery system, in accordance with one or more possible embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates an example interaction between a content provider andan SSG-system controller, and interaction between the system controllerand internal subsystems of the multimedia delivery system, in accordancewith one or more possible embodiments;

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example archive gateway, inaccordance with one or more possible embodiments;

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example CPE, in accordance withone or more possible embodiments;

FIG. 7 illustrates an example interactive, bidirectional-exchange ofinformation between the CPE and a distribution gateway, and between theCPE and a subscriber, in accordance with one or more possibleembodiments;

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of subscriber content price timing, inaccordance with one or more possible embodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates a functional block diagram of the example CPE, inaccordance with one or more possible embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates example interaction between an advertiser and thesystem controller, and between the system controller and internalsubsystems of a system and services gateway, in accordance with one ormore possible embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates an example interaction between a transport providerand the system controller, and between the system controller andinternal subsystems of the system and services gateway, in accordancewith one or more possible embodiments;

FIG. 12 illustrates an example subscriber web interface displayingpreference/cost impact, in accordance with one or more possibleembodiments;

FIG. 13 illustrates an example video time-bandwidth product improvement(VTBPI) system, in accordance with one or more embodiments;

FIG. 14 illustrates an example VTBPI timetable, in accordance with oneor more embodiments; and

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of an example method of transmittingVTBPI multimedia content, in accordance with one or more possibleembodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

A need exists for an efficient and effective use of transport resourcesto smooth out subscriber demand for multimedia content. A need alsoexists to subsidize the subscriber's multimedia content with on demand,changeable, subscriber-preferred targeted, non-targeted and/or requestedadvertisements without exacerbating bandwidth demands to delivereffective targeted and requested advertisements.

The embodiments described herein overcome the limitations discussedabove, as well as expanding on capabilities of existing contentdistribution systems. The embodiments provide for apparatuses, systems,and methods that can establish one or more pricing models foradvertising and subscriber selected video content driven by 1)subscriber preferences, 2) content provider pricing, 3) advertiserpricing and cluster selection, and 4) transport pricing (broadcast andnetwork) based on cost driven by the use of predicted excess capacity asdetermined by one or more pricing models of transport systems. The termsprice and cost are used interchangeably herein throughout.

The embodiments can optimize bandwidth/data rate constrained transportsystems, with 1) multimedia content selection and viewing time, 2)accepted amount of advertising, and 3) price under a subscriber'scontrol. The computer-based methods, systems, and apparatuses can beused to construct a real-time pricing model for the optimal use oftransport resources.

The computer-based methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein canprovide for personalized multimedia programming that includes theconsumer's selected multimedia content, specified resolution, viewingtime, lead-time, and an accepted number and type of embeddedadvertisements. Advertisers' preferences can be incorporated fortargeting selected individuals, cluster groups of individuals, andgeographic areas. Traditional advertising can be targeted at specificmultimedia content. The embodiments disclosed herein provide foradvertising that can be targeted to a cluster of the subscriber and/orto a specific subscriber or group of subscribers. The embodiments cananalyze subscriber behavior and reward the subscriber for eitherexisting or changing behavior that can result in lower operationalcosts.

The embodiments can limit a subscriber's specified maximum billingperiod cost (for example, a not-to-exceed price) based on thesubscriber's desired multimedia content for viewing and canautomatically adjust various subscriber parameters with respect tocontent providers', advertisers' and transporter(s)'s constraint(s).

The embodiments can further allow the subscriber to manually adjusttheir selected control preferences or parameters, including cost as anindependent parameter, to the cost of viewing over a billing periodthrough a web interface on a computer, the customer premises equipment(CPE), or other web accessible devices. The subscriber can also manuallyadjust their control parameters, including price, for individualcontent, content series, or selected subset of their desiredpersonalized programming.

The computer-based methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein canalso provide for the selection of cost-effective and resource-efficientmethods of content distribution based on the use (in total or in part)of multiple broadcast and/or multiple network infrastructures,including, multicast, peer-to-peer and mesh architectures. A companyimplementing one or more of the embodiments disclosed herein canpurchase, in bulk from an Internet Service Provider (ISP), blocks ofdata to supplement against the subscriber's data cap. This can be eitherin concert with the subscriber's existing data cap or executed as acompletely separate transaction.

FIG. 1 illustrates an example multimedia system 101, in accordance withone or more possible embodiments. The multimedia system 101 can includea multimedia delivery system 100 to electronically delivery multimediacontent to subscribers 105. The multimedia delivery system 100 caninclude customer premises equipment (CPE) 110, a system and servicesgateway 120, and one or more distribution gateways 130. The customerpremises equipment (CPE) 110 can be coupled to the system and servicesgateway 120 and the distribution gateways 130. The system and servicesgateway 120 and distribution gateways 130 can be coupled to contentproviders 140, advertisers 150, and transport providers 160. Subscribers105 can interact with the customer premises equipment 110.

The computer-based methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein canuse all available subscriber 105, content provider 140, content deliverypricing from transport providers 160, and advertiser 150 clusterinformation to automatically price multimedia content. Thecomputer-based methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein canselect the most cost-effective use of available electronic deliveryinfrastructure to satisfy the multimedia content, preferences andpricing requests from subscribers 105.

The computer-based methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein canincorporate advanced analytics techniques that can place advertisinginto subscriber 105 clusters, or direct placement to a specificsubscriber 105 or group of subscribers 105 with prioritization (forexample, Direct Marketing Areas (DMA)). This prioritization can be basedon the value the subscriber 105 places on an advertising and/or thevalue of a subscriber 105 to an advertiser 150. This includes theplacement of the advertising in the multimedia content for maximumimpact.

The computer-based methods, systems and apparatuses can allow forcontent transmission at a predetermined time and/or adaptively as afunction of the predictive and/or measured loading on networkdistribution (including backbone and last mile of network service). Theapproach to multimedia content distribution disclosed herein can selecta most cost efficient transport method and transport provider 160 forelectronic content delivery or transport, delivery and transport beingused interchangeably herein. Contracts with ISPs or the transportproviders 160 for the purchase of data transfers during periods ofreduced demand or periods of excess capacity can be utilized to minimizecosts associated with multimedia content electronic delivery. A lowernetwork Quality of Service (QoS) can be acceptable for electronicdelivery of non-live content (i.e., scheduled content delivery),resulting in lower transport cost with improved subscriber 105experience. The computer-based methods, systems and apparatusesdisclosed herein can tolerate lower network QoS to the CPE 110, withmultimedia content and advertising being pre-stored on the CPE 110before it is assembled for display for a subscriber 105. Thecomputer-based methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein canallow for error detection and correction to address data dropouts.

The computer-based methods, systems and apparatuses disclosed herein canprice preplanned multimedia content of the subscriber 105 inbandwidth/data rate constrained digital distribution systems. Digitalmultimedia content files or packets can be transmitted over one or moreof network and broadcast infrastructures, including multicast, torrentand/or mesh architectures, to the CPEs 110 of the subscribers 105. Whenmultiple network and broadcast infrastructures are utilized, the digitalpackets are stored locally within a CPE 110 of the subscriber 105 forre-assembly into a viewable stream by a selected display device ordevices at a specified time.

The subscriber 105 can interact with the multimedia electronic deliverysystem 100 through a web interface contained in the CPE 110. Thesubscriber 105 can communicate content selection and operationalpreferences to the multimedia delivery system 100. In response to theseselection and operational preferences (see Table 4) the multimediadelivery system 100 can price the content and make this informationavailable to the subscriber 105 via the web interface in near real-time.

TABLE 1 CPE Profile Unique Identification Hash CPE Identification NumberAccount Holder Name Street Address City State Zip Code Country GPSLocation IP Address ISP Congressional District State Political DistrictsLocal Political Districts Trace Route to CPE (for maintenance and guidedexpansion)

TABLE 2 Subscriber Account Profile CPE Unique Identification AccountIdentification Number Account Privacy Preferences Maximum cost for theoverall billing period Control parameters of individual subscriberprofiles (Parental) Password/PIN/Thumbprint/Voice Recognition/FaceRecognition/Other Credit Card Number (for Billing only) Expiration Date(for Billing only) Validation Number (for Billing only) Subscriber DataCap(s) Wired Cellular Satellite Wi-Fi

TABLE 3 Individual Subscriber Profile(s) Subscriber Account UniqueIdentification Link Unique Identification Number Personal IdentificationNumber Name Preferences Table Link Social Media Input and ConnectionsMain Subscriber (Parental) Control Limitation—Maturity Level of ContentAllowed Privacy Preferences (Individual Override—If over 18) SubscriberDomain Shift—Changing viewing preferences and habits AdvertisingPreferences (Non-targeted, Targeted, and Requested) Maximum allowedspending controlled by the primary subscriber Individual Subscriber CostLimits—Profile 1 Content Class Max Class Cost Ad Preference Lead-TimeViewing Delay Amount of Allowed Advertising Video Quality/ResolutionIndividual Subscriber Cost Limits—Profile 2 ..... Individual SubscriberCost Limits—Profile N

TABLE 4 Subscriber Preferences History Reference Number Time/DateRequested Time/Date Viewed Purchase Mode (Viewing window, Number ofTimes Allowed, Permanent) Unique Identification Hash Link Content Title#1 Content Season (if applicable) Content Episode (if applicable)Resolution (Mobile Device, SD, HD, UHD) Length of Planning Interval(Content Viewing Delay)/Prior to broadcast Requested Commercials PerUnit Content IP Address ISP Content Identification (Library of CongressNumber) * Date of Content Identification Number * IMDB ContentIdentification * Social Media Connections Privacy PreferencesAdvertising Preferences (Non-targeted, Targeted, and Requested) *Appended in the System Gateway

TABLE 5 Subscriber History Unique Subscriber Identification Hash HistoryReference Number—0 Content Title ID Time/date content was selectedRequested viewing system time/date Actual content viewing system starttime/date Actual content viewing system stop time/date Number of pausesAverage length of pauses Fast Forward Operations Rewind OperationsMethod of transport Time/date the content was started for delivery toCPE Time/date the content delivery was completed Amount and type ofadvertising accepted List advertisements inserted—advertising positionnumber and time/date displayed, directed Advertising Skipped Price ofcontent when selected Price of content when watched Purchase modeResolution/quality Display type Content Price Equation Type Used forPricing Content Content Price Equation Descriptive Parameters(Coefficients, Slope, . . . ) Cluster Content Confidence IntervalCluster Content Popularity Index Time/date of Transfer to Mobile DeviceHistory Reference Number—1 History Reference Number—2 .... HistoryReference Number—N For each Content Item Requested or Recommended

TABLE 6 Multimedia Content Metadata Unique Database IdentificationContent Title Title ID (Database Specific or Library of Congress Number)Content Rating as a Function of Time from Release Date Technical Specs(Running Time, Sound Mix, Color, Aspect Ratio, etc.) Content Genre(Action, Crime, etc.) Release Date Content Director Content Writer(s)Content Star(s) Related Content Storyline Plot Keywords Tag Line(s)Country of Origin Filming Locations Production Company(ies)/NetworkCompany Contact Data User Review MPAA Rating Curated Reviews ProfessionReviews Content Season and Episode Special Effects Content ProviderPrice

Advertisers 150 can pay for the attention of the subscribers 105.Advertisers 150 can provide commercials, desired viewer cluster, andcampaign objectives through the dedicated interfaces of the multimediadelivery system 100. The multimedia delivery system 100 can use suchinformation together with sophisticated mathematical algorithms (forexample, executed by a system processor 128 shown in FIG. 3) to matchrequested clusters to the subscribers 105, preferably not to multimediacontent. This matching technique can provide advertisers 150 a more costeffective technique to reach their desired audience.

The transport providers 160 can provide the parameters shown in Table 7to the system and services gateway 120, through dedicated interfaces.These parameters can be used to schedule and price excess capacity of atransport provider 160 to lower distribution price to customer premisesequipment 110 of subscribers 105, as well as to make maximal use of adelivery network, particularly during a period when a delivery networkis being underutilized, for example midnight to 6 A.M.

TABLE 7 Advertiser Request and Parameters Unique AdvertiserIdentification Unique Commercial Identifier Advertising CategoryDemographic Preferences Geographic Preferences Technical Content ofAdvertiser Advertising Priority Associated Advertising Number of TimesAdvertising to be Shown Minimum Time Interval to Repeat PreferredAdvertising Position Preferred Show or Content Type Zip Code AssignmentPolitical Boundaries Advertising QoS (AQoS) Advertising Value ofAdvertiser to Subscriber Advertising Value of Subscriber to AdvertiserDirect Advertising Insertion Advertising Demographic Group ID RedeemedAdvertising Credit Coupon No.1 Redeemed Advertising Credit Coupon No.2..... Redeemed Advertising Credit Coupon No. N Advertising Impact QoS(AIQoS)

The content providers 140 can provide information that allows themultimedia delivery system 100 to delivery multimedia content to thesubscribers 105. For example, the content providers 140 can providecontent listing, licensing and pricing information, together withmultimedia content to the multimedia delivery system 100 thoughdedicated interfaces.

FIG. 2 illustrates example interoperability of components of themultimedia delivery system 100, according to one or more possibleembodiments. The system and services gateway 120 can be coupled tocontent providers 140 and advertisers 150. The system and servicesgateway 120 can be further coupled to a plurality of distributiongateways 130 a-d. One or more of the distribution gateways 130 a-d canbe coupled to a broadcast gateway 210. The broadcast gateway 210 candeliver multimedia content over broadcast infrastructure, such asover-the-air broadcast infrastructure, cable broadcast infrastructure,satellite broadcast infrastructure, and/or any other broadcastinfrastructure. The distribution gateways 130 a-d can allow forsimultaneous, synchronous and asynchronous (not in time order) deliveryof multimedia content to CPEs 110 of subscribers 105 over one or more ofnetwork and broadcast distribution infrastructures. The broadcastgateway 210 can determine what multimedia content is transmitted overeach transmission infrastructure based on resource excess capacity,resource cost, and resource availability. The CPEs 110 can store suchdata from multiple sources and reconstructed the multimedia content inproper order for viewing with the CPE 110 of the subscriber 105. The CPE110 can be at least partially implemented with a carrier suppliedcustomer premise equipment, a digital video recorder, a set top box, avideo extender, a smart television, a personal computer, a tabletcomputer, a smart phone, with a software application (“app”)implementation, and/or any other media device that can play themultimedia content.

Distribution gateway 130 a can be coupled to CPE 110 b via an Internetconnection and optionally coupled to mobile device 220 via an Internetconnection. Distribution gateway 130 a can service a specific geographicregion, for example CPE 110 devices within Fairfax County. Distributiongateway 130 b can be coupled to CPE 110 c via an Internet connection andoptionally coupled to the broadcast gateway 210 via an Internetconnection. Distribution gateway 130 a can service a specific geographicregion, for example CPE 110 devices within Montgomery County.Distribution gateway 130 c can be coupled to the broadcast gateway 210via an Internet connection and to CPE 110 d via an Internet connection.Distribution gateway 130 c can service a specific geographic region, forexample CPE 110 devices within a region of the District of Columbia.Distribution gateway 130 d can be coupled to CPE 110 e via an Internetconnection. Distribution gateway 130 d can service a specific geographicregion, for example CPE 110 devices within a different region of theDistrict of Columbia that those CPE 110 devices serviced by distributiongateway 130 c. CPE 110 b can be optionally coupled to CPE 110 c and CPE110 d via a peer-to-peer Internet connection. CPE 110 c and CPE 110 dcan be optionally coupled via a peer-to-peer Internet connection. Thesize of a specific geographic region that a particular distributiongateway 130 services can be a function of the location and density ofCPEs 110 of subscribers 105 within a geographic region.

The system and services gateway 120 and the distribution gateways 130can be implemented redundantly, and can work through individualfailures, either in hardware of the multimedia delivery system 100 orInternet connectivity. A backup hot spare of the system and servicesgateway 120 can be maintained such that in the event of a failure,operations transition seamlessly to the backup hot spare.

The multimedia delivery system 100 can operate with many distributiongateways 130. In an event of a distribution gateway 130 failure, theoperation of the failed distribution gateway 130 can be spread toseveral nearby distribution gateways 130 until the failure is corrected.

In one or more possible embodiments, there can be no redundant backupfor an individual CPE 110, per se. However, a subscriber 105 can streammultimedia content using an alternate media CPE 110 device, for example,a digital video recorder, a set top box, a video extender, a smarttelevision, a personal computer, a tablet computer, a smart phone, asoftware application (app) implementation, and/or any other media devicethat can play the multimedia content, in the event of a primary CPE 110failure. Such streaming to an alternate media CPE 110 device can beperformed at no additional cost to the subscriber 105.

The system and services gateway 120 can price subscriber's preplannedmultimedia content in bandwidth/data rate constrained digitaldistribution systems. Digital multimedia content files or packets can betransmitted utilizing at least one of network and broadcastinfrastructures, including multicast, torrent and mesh architectures, tothe CPEs 110 of the subscribers 105. When multiple network and broadcastinfrastructures are utilized, the digital packets are stored locallywithin the CPEs 110 for re-assembly into a viewable steam, preferablyprior to release for viewing by a selected display device or devices ata specified time(s).

The system and services gateway 120 can transmit to the CPEs 110 a listof subscriber selected and recommended multimedia content, multimediacontent that meets/does not meet subscriber cost constraints, and/ormultimedia content that has/has not been downloaded to the CPE 110. Thesystem processor 128 can perform multimedia content recommendation basedon information from Tables 1 through 6 to discover the recommendedmultimedia content. The system processor 128 can determine confidenceintervals for each of the subscriber 105 selected and recommendedmultimedia content, the confidence intervals indicating a likelihoodthat the multimedia content from the recommended multimedia content bestmatches preferred subscriber 105 multimedia content. A list ofsubscriber 105 selected and recommended multimedia content and theconfidence intervals, respectively, can be transmitted to the CPE(s) 110for display to the subscriber(s) 105 via a user interface of the CPE(s)110.

FIG. 3 illustrates an overall block diagram of the example multimediadelivery system 100, in accordance with one or more possibleembodiments. The system and services gateway 120 can include an archivegateway 122, a billing & payment module 124, a system controller 126,and a system processor 128. The system controller 126 can include a timereference module 127. The archive gateway 122 can be coupled to thesystem controller 126 and the system processor 128 via a control, status& data bus 129. The distribution gateway 130 can be coupled to thebroadcast infrastructure 210 for transmission of multimedia content andadvertising. The broadcast infrastructure 210 can include suchbroadcasting infrastructure as over-the air broadcast infrastructure,cable broadcast infrastructure, satellite broadcast infrastructure,cellular, and/or any other broadcast network that allows multimediacontent to be transmitted to the CPEs 110 of the subscribers 105. Atleast a portion of the system and services gateway 120 (for example, thesystem processor 128) can be partitioned and operated simultaneously in,one or more of the following environments: local computing, mobilecomputing, and distributed computing and cloud-computing.

The archive gateway 122 can receive such information as multimediacontent updates and advertising updates. The archive gateway 122 cantransmit multimedia content and advertising to the distribution gateway130. The multimedia delivery system 100 can store the multimedia contentin the archive gateway 122 (or archive cloud) for transfer to thedistribution gateway 130 for commonly viewed multimedia content and toCPEs 110 of the subscribers 105 under agreed licensing and pricing termsand conditions.

All data from external interfaces can be handled through the multimediadelivery system 100. In particular, such data from external interfacescan be sent and received by the system controller 126. This data caninclude subscriber 105 parameters provided by the subscribers 105,content provider 140 parameters provided by the content providers 140,advertiser parameters provided by the advertisers 150, and transportparameters provided by the transport providers 160, an external timereference 127, and other databases to be used to optimize the multimediadelivery system 100. The external time reference can be distributedthroughout the multimedia delivery system 100. The external timereference can be used to maintain synchronization for deconstructing andconstructing multimedia content and advertising, as well as tokenauthorization and decryption. The system controller 126 can receive anexternal time reference 127 and information from other databases.

The distribution gateway 130 can send and receive information from themobile device 220 operating as a CPE 110. The distribution gateway 130can send and receive, to and from the CPE 110, such bidirectionalinformation as control & status that can be either encrypted orunencrypted, and transmit such information as multimedia content via atransport provider 160 and advertising via a transport provider 160. Thedistribution gateway 130 can transmit to the broadcast infrastructure210 such information as encrypted multimedia content and advertisements,and send and receive, to and from the broadcast infrastructure 210, suchbidirectional information as control and status that can be eitherencrypted or unencrypted. The distribution gateway 130 can sendmultimedia content and advertising to the mobile device 220. In one ormore possible embodiments, the CPE 110 can send multimedia content tothe mobile device 220 to be viewed on one or more displays 310, eitherfor storage or live streaming from the CPE 110.

The broadcast infrastructure 210 can transmit multimedia content andadvertising over one or more of the over-the air broadcastinfrastructure, cable broadcast infrastructure, and satellite broadcastinfrastructure. One or more possible embodiments can maintain amulti-stage process for Internet delivery of multimedia content andadvertising to a subscriber 105. All multimedia content and advertising,from their respective sources, can be initially transferred to a centralrepository, the archive gateway 122. The archive gateway 122 can providefor long term storage or the “permanent” storage of multimedia content.The functions performed by the archive gateway 122 can be distributed inthe distribution gateways 130 and/or be performed in a cloud-computingenvironment.

Frequently selected multimedia content can be transferred from thearchive gateway 122 to distribution gateways 130 for staging. Thedistribution gateways 130 can be located throughout the country tominimize the impact to the Internet and therefore transport price(s).The multimedia content maintained on the distribution gateway 130 can beregularly updated to reflect new popular multimedia content becomingavailable, with pruning being performed on least frequently selectedmultimedia content that is on the distribution gateway 130. Themultimedia content selection maintained on a given distribution gateway130 can be individually optimized and can be different from region toregion. The multimedia content selection maintained on distributiongateways 130 can also be updated periodically and can reflect seasonalviewing preferences, for example, holiday multimedia content duringholidays, horror multimedia content during Halloween, etc.

Infrequently selected multimedia content can be maintained only on thearchive gateway 122. The infrequently selected content, upon a requestfrom the subscriber 105, can be transferred to the distribution gateway130 and placed in temporary storage of the distribution gateway 130.This buffered multimedia content can then be processed as frequentlyviewed multimedia content for delivery to a requesting CPE 110 of thesubscriber 105, again minimizing the impact to delivery infrastructure(for example, the Internet) and price. The amount of storage maintainedin the distribution gateway 130 can be optimized to minimize the overallcapital expenditure and operational costs, trading off the cost foradding and maintaining disk storage vs. the Internet backbone impact andcost of delivering infrequently selected content that can be maintainedon the archive gateway 122. The optimized storage maintained on thedistribution gateways 130 can be different from region to region.

Staged content on the distribution gateway 130 can be transferred to theCPE 110 of the subscriber 105 upon a request from the subscriber 105.Since one or more of the embodiments encourage, via economic incentives,to have subscribers 105 preplan their content selection, the delivery ofmultimedia content to the CPE 110 can be performed to minimize deliveryinfrastructure (for example, the Internet) transport charge(s).

The system processor 128 can analyze the multimedia content stored oneach archive gateway 122 and each distribution gateway 130. Thisanalysis can use the information contained in subscriber 105 preferencesshown in Table 4 and subscriber 105 viewing history data shown in Table5. Using this analysis, the system processor 128 can rank multimediacontent by popularity, longevity, and cost to maintain the multimediacontent in the repository of the archive gateway 122 to determine whatmultimedia content is stored and when it's purged from the repository ofthe archive gateway 122. Purged multimedia content can be stored inoffline storage. This process can be adjusted for seasonal and regionalviewing preferences. This information and instructions are passed to thesystem controller 126 for distribution to the archive gateway 122 andsubsequently to the distribution gateway 130.

The system processor 128 can use information contained in CPE profiledata shown in Table 1, subscriber 105 account profile shown in Table 2,individual subscriber 105 profile shown in Table 3, subscriber 105preferences data show in Table 4, subscriber 105 history data shown inTable 5, and multimedia content metadata from external databases shownin Table 6 to discover multimedia content to recommend to thesubscribers 105. Such information can be used to create a community ofsubscribers 105 with common viewing interests and build a subscriber 105social network. This community can provide discussion groups (similar toa book club), forums, subscriber-written reviews, and lists of curatedcontent for and by subscribers 105. These communities build subscriber105 affinity and cohesiveness, which can create subscriber 105“stickiness”. This stickiness translates into attention and can createadded value for the advertisers 150. Advertisers 150 can use thisincreased attention to add value to their commercials. Existing socialnetworks (e.g., Facebook) can be integrated into the multimedia deliverysystem 100.

The price for multimedia content may be determined by the systemprocessor 128 as an exponential decay as a function of time as follows:

Content Provider Price_(i,j)(t)=(Start Price_(i,j)−TailPrice_(i,j))*exp^([−β) ^(i) *^((t−Start Time) ^(j) ^()])+TailPrice_(i,j)

where t is a function of any instantaneous time, i identifies thespecific content, j identifies content resolution, and β_(i) identifiesthe decay rate of the specific multimedia content. More complex modelscan be instantiated within the system processor 128.

The multimedia content price to the subscriber 105 can be determined bythe system processor 128 according to the equation as follows:

Subscriber Content Price=Content Provider Price+Content DeliveryPrice−Advertising Subsidy+Commissions on all Pricing transactions

Thus, the subscriber multimedia content price can be expressed afunction of at least one of the content provider 140 price, the contentdelivery price, the advertising subsidy, and the commissions. Thecommissions can be associated with at least one of selecting themultimedia content, scheduling delivery of the multimedia content,pricing of delivery of the multimedia content, and inserting anadvertisement into the multimedia content. The system processor 128 cancalculate each of the terms on the right side of this equation. Thesystem processor 128 can compute these quantities simultaneously and inparallel using various mathematical methods and techniques. The systemprocessor 128 can process all cost/price/demand models simultaneously.An adjudication process can be executed by the system processor 128 thatcan select the best content provider 140 price, which can increasecontent demand and maximize the content provider's 140 revenue/profit.Initially, parameters for the adjudication process may be set by thecontent provider(s) 140 and refined by actual CPE 110 measurements andtest marketing, or focus group data, within the system processor 128.The system processor 128 can use the collected data to predict the StartPrice (shown in FIG. 8 as Start Price 875 on a content provider 140price curve 810) of multimedia content being a price of multimediacontent at a time at which the multimedia content is made available forviewing, the Tail Price (shown in FIG. 8 as Tail Price 880 on contentprovider 140 price curve 810) of multimedia content being a multimediacontent price which decreases as the view-delay becomes large, and β_(i)being an exponential decay parameter that can be for specific multimediacontent or clusters of multimedia content. Then, the predictedparameters can be used to calculate the content provider 140 price foreach particular multimedia content. The goal is to maximize the contentproviders' 140 revenue by increasing multimedia content demand bydecreasing the multimedia content's price, which in turn can stimulatedemand by the subscribers 105. The content provider's 140 cost/price andinvestment payoff schedule can be considered in these calculations. Thesystem processor 128 can simultaneously perform this costing/pricingfunction with advertiser 150, transport provider 160, and subscriber 105pricing data considered.

The system processor 128 can calculate the Advertising Quality ofService (AQoS) and prioritize advertising to achieve a specified AQoS.The AQoS can include a minimum percentage of distinct subscribers 105that have a specified advertisement displayed a minimum number of timesfor the multimedia system 101 or advertiser 150 specified cluster. Thisprocess can use the information contained Tables 1, 2 and 3, subscriber105 viewing histories, external databases (for example, advertisersupplied databases) and advertiser 150 demographics of interest.Advertisers 150 can also purchase exclusivity or limited exclusivityduring the viewing of a specified multimedia content by their selectedor multimedia system 101 selected cluster profiles. In at least oneembodiment, the subscriber 105 can be given a credit coupon by a productseller when associated advertising is viewed and the product ispurchased to reduce the out-of-pocket expenses of the subscriber 105 tomaintain services and multimedia content provided by the multimediasystem 101. The feedback of advertising to a purchase, AQoS, type ofadvertising (targeted, non-targeted, and subscriber requested), andsubscriber 105 interaction with the CPE 110 can be used by the systemprocessor 128 to measure an Advertising Impact Quality of Service(AIQoS). This can be performed for both national and regionaladvertisers 150.

Placement of an advertisement within content is based on maximum valueto an advertiser 150. The system processor 128 can determine such valueand priority using subscriber 105 profiles, subscriber 105 viewinghistory, subscriber 105 account profile, individual subscriber 105profiles, subscriber 105 preferences, advertiser requests andparameters, interactions of the subscriber 105 with the CPE 110, and/orone or more of factors show in tables 1-6. The system processor 128 cantransmit results of such a determination to the CPE 110 for assembly ofan advertisement within multimedia content. These factors can include:cluster-specific and individual-specific subscriber 105 profiles, typeof advertisement (generic cluster-specific, advertiser-specific, andsubscriber-requested), time and date of a start request, value and cycle(i.e., selection of a next advertisement in a value-ordered list ofadvertisements can be sent to a CPE 110 of a subscriber 105 to beinserted in the multimedia content.

The system controller 126 can transmit this list to the CPE 110. The CPE110 can maintain and update this ordered list through a prioritized listof advertisements assignments for each available commercial slot,tracking of a number of times a particular advertisement is viewedwithin a given time interval, a last time a particular advertisement wasshown to a subscriber 105 of the CPE 110 to determine when such anadvertisement should be shown again to cluster-specific andindividual-specific subscribers 105, subscriber 105 demographic profile(used by advertisement insertion instruction module of the CPE 110 (notshown)), type of advertising accepted or requested by a subscriber 105via the CPE 110, a predetermined value of a cluster-specific andindividual-specific subscriber 105 to an advertiser 150 in itsprocessing, decreasing value of an advertisement with the passage oftime or repeated viewings within a specified time interval to acluster-specific or individual-specific subscriber 105, and repeatedviewings of multimedia content can have different advertisementsinserted for each viewing of the multimedia content by cluster-specificand individual-specific subscribers 105. These factors can furtherinclude an advertisement or advertising campaign as specified by anadvertiser 150 to be inserted within multimedia content based on one ormore of cluster-exclusivity, limited cluster-exclusivity,content-specific insertion for selected cluster subscriber 105-profiles,individual-subscriber 105 profiles, advertiser 150 specified minimumnumber of times an advertisement is displayed, a minimum number ofrepetitions within a time interval an advertisement can be shown to asubscriber-cluster or individual subscriber 105, advertiser 150specified demographic-seeding instructions to perform more focusedclustering for products and services, advertiser 150 specified regionaland national insertion and display of an advertisement, advertiser 150specified advertisement play time of when the advertisement is presentedto a subscriber 105 within the multimedia content relative to the startof the multimedia content, content position (cluster-specific andindividual-specific) of advertising insertion times, an advertisementactual play time within a specific multimedia content, position of theadvertisement, and content checked (against the specified advertisementplay time, content and position) for AQoS and AIQoS validation.

The system and services gateway 120 can limit a subscriber 105 specifiedmaximum price for a billing period (for example, bi-weekly, monthly,quarterly, semi-annually, yearly, and/or any other billing periodselected by a subscriber 105) based on the subscriber's 105 desiredmultimedia content for viewing. The system and services gateway 120 canautomatically adjust various subscriber parameters with respect toconstraints of the content providers 140, advertisers 150, and transportprovider(s) 160. The system and services gateway 120 can automaticallyadjust preferences of the subscriber 105 to meet a subscriber 105 setprice limit for a billing period based on selected multimedia content.The system processor 128 of the system and services gateway 120 canperform dynamic pricing that includes automatic design-to-price ofpersonalized multimedia content programming of the subscribers 105 basedon a willingness of the subscribers 105 to modify viewing choices andpreferences. For example, the CPE 110 can allow a subscriber 105 toselect and control modification of a preference including at least oneof an allowed amount of advertising to be inserted in the multimediacontent, the lead-time of electronic delivery, a multimedia contentdelayed viewing period, a multimedia content resolution, and targeted,non-targeted, and subscriber requested advertising types to meet themaximum price for the billing period. Such selection and modificationcan be based on the subscriber 105, via the CPE 110, selecting at leastone of multimedia content for viewing, selecting a different time/datefor viewing of the multimedia content, and modifying at least one of thesubscriber selected preferences different from the at least one of thesubscriber selected preferences modified to meet the maximum price forthe billing period.

FIG. 4 illustrates an example interaction between the content provider140 and the system controller 126, and interaction between the systemcontroller 126 and internal subsystems of the multimedia delivery system100, in accordance with one or more possible embodiments. Either thesystem controller 126 (Option 1) or a content provider 140 (Option 2)can initiate a request for content delivery to the multimedia deliverysystem 100. The content provider 140 can respond to Option 1 or Option 2with a pricing request. This pricing request can include anidentification number of the content provider 140, a unique multimediacontent identification number, a suggested multimedia content price, andother parameters (for example, content screenplay, available contentresolution(s), content file size(s), content runtime(s), and othermultimedia content descriptive information). This information can besent to the system controller 126 through a Virtual Private Network(VPN). The system controller 126 then can send this information to thesystem processor 128.

The system processor 128 can analyze data of the multimedia content,including advanced analytics to analyze the screenplay for plot, andother production choices, for example actors, directors. This analysiscan be used in conjunction with subscriber 105 cluster interests. Thesystem processor 128 can provide, based on this analysis, potentialcontent pricing, popularity, and expected content provider 140 revenue.This processing can take into account a domain shift associated withchanging subscriber 105 viewing preferences and habits. The systemprocessor 128 can then pass this information back to the systemcontroller 126 which passes the information back to the content provider140. The information returned to the content provider 140 from thesystem processor 128, via the system controller 126, can include: 1) thepotential subscriber 105 demand for the multimedia content at as afunction of price, 2) the predicted popularity of the multimedia content(for example, from clustering analysis performed in the system processor128) and 3) expected revenue generated by the multimedia content as afunction of time. The system processor 128 can analyze and optimize themultimedia content pricing and recommendation, advertising pricing andtransport pricing functions either independently or all functionssimultaneously/globally through the use of local and globaladjudication.

The system controller 126 can calculate an optimum price together with atable that provides the expected demand, expected popularity andexpected revenue as a function of a multimedia content price curve. Thisinformation can then be passed to a content provider 140 as a basis toselect a multimedia content price. The content provider 140 can chooseto select the optimum price for the multimedia content determined by thesystem and services gateway 120 or set a different price. The finalselected price is sent by content provider 140 back to the systemcontroller 126. If the content provider 140 selects a multimedia contentprice that differs from the optimum price determined by the system andservices gateway 120, the system controller 126 can forward the newinformation to the system processor 128 for revaluation. The systemprocessor 128 can reevaluate the popularity and revenue model forinternal use by the multimedia delivery system 100. However, even if thecontent provider 140 selects a suboptimum price, the multimedia deliverysystem 100 will use that price. The system controller 126 can forwardthis multimedia content pricing to the billing and payment module 124.The interaction and operation between the system controller 126, thesystem processor 128, external interfaces (with content providers 140,advertisers 150, and content broadcast and network transport), thearchive gateways 122, and the distribution gateways 130 can becontrolled by the system controller 126.

The reevaluation of multimedia content popularity as a function of timecan be necessary to maintain the archive gateways 122 and thedistribution gateways 130. The maintenance can purge less popularmultimedia content, thereby freeing up storage for more popularmultimedia content. Whenever new multimedia content is added to thearchive gateways 122 or distribution gateways 130, the system controller126 can task the system processor 128 to perform a multimedia contentpopularity analysis to make storage available. As shown in FIG. 4, thesystem controller 126 can perform this purging process before enablingmultimedia content (or advertising) transfer from a content provider 140(or an Advertiser 150) to the archive gateways 122. Also, the systemcontroller 126 can perform this purging process before enablingmultimedia content (or advertising) transfer from an archive gateway 122to one or more regional distribution gateways 130.

The distribution gateway 130 can be coupled (for example, contain) toone or more of solid state and/or disk-based storage. Periodically, thesystem controller 126 can task the system processor 128 to analyzesubscriber 105 multimedia content requests. Based on the receivedanalysis, the system controller 126 can reallocate existing distributiongateway 130 multimedia content between solid state and disk-basedstorage to achieve lower operating cost and faster multimedia contentretrieval.

FIG. 5 illustrates a block diagram of an example archive gateway 122, inaccordance with one or more possible embodiments. The archive gateway122 can include an archive control & status module 510, a video ID &buffer module 520, a content & advertising catalog 530, video archivestorage 540, and a video distribution module 550. The archive control &status module 510 can be coupled to the control, status & data bus 129and a control, status & data bus 501 within the archive gateway 122. Thevideo ID & buffer module 520 can be coupled to a Virtual Private Network(VPN) 505, the control, status & data bus 501, the content & advertisingcatalog 530, and the video archive storage 540. The content &advertising catalog 530 can be coupled to the control, status & data bus501 and the video distribution module 550. The video archive storage 540can further be coupled to the video distribution module 550. The videodistribution module 550 can further be coupled to the control, status &data bus 501 and the distribution gateway 130.

The archive gateway 122 can store all active multimedia content andadvertising that may be accessed in the multimedia delivery system 100.This includes licensed multimedia content and active advertising. Allnew multimedia content and advertising can be received via the VPN 505from their respective sources, the content providers 140 and theadvertisers 150. The video data can be buffered for conversion into aformat used by the multimedia delivery system 100 and cataloged. Oncethis process is complete, the multimedia delivery system 100 formattedmultimedia content can be transferred to the video archive storage 540.The content & advertising catalog 530 can maintain an index for allmultimedia content and advertising stored in the video archive storage540.

The video distribution module 550 can control transfer of multimediacontent and advertising to the distribution gateway 130. Commonlyrequested multimedia content (new and perennial favorites) can be storedand serviced directly from the distribution gateway 130 to minimizetraffic on distribution infrastructure (for example, the Internetbackbone). Infrequently accessed multimedia content can be serviced fromthe archive gateway 122 for delivery through the distribution gateway130. The system processor 128 of the distribution gateway 130 canregularly evaluate operations of the multimedia delivery system 100 tooptimize storage of the distribution gateway 130. Optimizing storage ofthe distribution gateway 130 can minimize overall costs by trading offstorage of the distribution gateway 130 for distribution infrastructuretransportation costs.

FIG. 6 illustrates a block diagram of an example CPE 110, in accordancewith one or more possible embodiments. In particular, the CPE 110 caninclude a Wi-Fi/Cellular interface 602, an Ethernet interface 604, anenvironmental monitoring module 606, an assembly engine 608, anencryptor, decryptor, & packetizer 610, a CPE control and status module612, a tuner (for example, over-the-air tuner)/cable card (for example,satellite and/or cable) module 614, and internal storage 616. The CPE110 can further include a DVD/Blu-ray drive 618, a remote controlinterface 620, and an HDMI interface 622. All of the components of theCPE 110 can be inter-coupled with one another. The CPE 110 can becoupled to an external network attached storage (NAS) device 624. Theremote control interface 620 can communicate with a remote control 629.The HDMI interface 622 can be coupled to a local television 630. Theassembly engine 608 can retrieve at least one of multimedia content andadvertisements from the internal storage 616 and/or the NAS device 624and output the at least one of multimedia content and advertisements toa display device, such as local television 630, for viewing by thesubscriber 105.

The CPE 110 can be a “set-top” box that can provide a mechanism to storeand display multimedia content (and advertisements) across a variety ofdevices, shown in FIG. 6. The CPE 110 can interact with the distributiongateway 130 and the subscriber 105 to coordinate the viewing ofmultimedia content. Although the multimedia delivery system 100 canstream multimedia content, the primary mode of operation is to displaymultimedia content that has been pre-stored on the CPE 110. An advantageof pre-storing multimedia content on the CPE 110 is to reduce peakdistribution infrastructure bandwidth requirements and eliminatesusceptibility to momentary glitches in network delivery of themultimedia content.

The CPE 110 can have a primary CPE 110 account for bill paying, overallprice control, and parental controls, as well as defining underlyingindividual profiles for viewing preferences and selections. In addition,an individual CPE 110 can have multiple primary accounts that can allowfor separate billing.

The CPE 110 can store all preloaded multimedia content in an encryptedstate until the CPE 110 receives a subscriber 105 requested to displaythe multimedia content. After viewing, any unencrypted bufferedmultimedia content can be purged, again leaving only the encryptedmultimedia content resident on the CPE 110. The CPE 110 can acceptbroadcast delivery via tuner/cable card module 614 from one or morebroadcast infrastructure 632 (for example, over-the-air, satellite,and/or cable). In addition, the CPE 110 can be preloaded for generalresale with popular current multimedia content so the subscriber 105 canstart using the CPE 110 immediately without needing to stream and/ordownload the multimedia content prior to viewing. The preloadedmultimedia content can also include a variety of promotional videos orcontent.

The WiFi/cellular interface 602 and Ethernet interface 604 can providenetwork interfaces to the distribution gateway 130 via the serviceprovider 160 of the subscriber 105. In addition, these interfaces can beused to connect to a video extender 626 and one or more portable devices628 to the CPE 110. The video extender 626 can be a stripped down CPE110 that allows the CPE 110 to transfer video content to multipletelevisions, simultaneously. The CPE 110 can directly transfer and storemultimedia content on portable devices 628 for subsequent display of themultimedia content. The environmental monitoring module 606 can monitorfor vibration, intrusion, temperature, power glitches, and any otherfactors that may cause an electronic failure with the CPE 110.

The CPE 110 can use, for a multicast or any one-to-many multimediacontent and/or advertisements delivery system, a unique encryption keyand a common or general decryption key to decrypt multimedia and/oradvertising content, if required. Once the CPE 110 receives the uniqueencryption key and the general decryption key, the CPE 110 can decryptthe multimedia and/or advertising content with the general decryptionkey and re-encrypt the multimedia and/or advertising content with theunique encryption key prior to placing the multimedia content in theinternal storage 616 or the external NAS 624 device. The distributiongateway 130 can transmit to the CPE 110 information required to performthe multicast decryption and unique re-encryption per CPE 110 prior toplacing the multimedia content and/or advertisements in storage. Inresponse to a subscriber 105 request to play the multimedia content withthe CPE 110, the distribution gateway 120 can transmit a uniquedecryption key to the CPE 110 that permits the CPE 110 to decrypt andplay the multimedia content on the CPE 110.

The subscriber 105 can initiate actions at any time during viewing ofselected multimedia content with the CPE 110. These actions can includePause/Resume, Fast Forward, Rewind and AdSkip. Each action modifiesassembly instruction differently subject to a set of predetermined,programmable rules. In addition, the subscriber 105 can vote onindividual advertisements with the potential to receive subsidies tooffset the price of the multimedia content.

In each subscriber-initiated action, the CPE 110 can save the multimediacontent state and capture the Time of Day (ToD) and the elapsed timefrom start of multimedia content viewing Tcs. At the start of multimediacontent, Tcs can equal the current ToD and at the end of content Tce canequal the then current ToD. The ToD can include the time stamp of theday count (can be referenced to Jan. 1, 2015) and time (referenced from0000 hours) and can be locked to an external, system time reference suchas the NIST Time Server. Any subscriber 105 initiated action can carryboth a ToD and a value relative to the Tcs. The ToD can include a daycount starting at a multimedia system 101 defined point (can bereferenced to Jan. 1, 2015).

Pause/Resume can allow the subscriber 105 to pause multimedia contentand/or advertisement viewing and then resume multimedia content viewingwhen ready. Fast Forward can allow the subscriber 105 to fast forwardthe multimedia content and/or advertisement to a selected point andresume viewing. Associated with the Fast Forward action is a visualand/or timing (using the Tcs) cues to allow the subscriber 105 to findthe desired point within the multimedia content and/or advertisement andresume viewing from that point. Rewind allows the subscriber 105 to findand replay a previously viewed point in the multimedia content and/oradvertisement. Again, associated with the Rewind action is a visualand/or timing (using the Tcs) cues to allow the subscriber 105 to findthe desired point and replay the multimedia content and/oradvertisement.

AdSkip allows the subscriber 105 to skip a selected advertisement. Sincethe subscriber 105 can select the number of advertisements inserted intoany given multimedia content, this feature is preferably limited. AdSkipcan impact the potential advertiser 150 subsidy, and therefore thesubscriber 105 costs within the multimedia system 101. The CPE 110 canprovide an Advertisement Skip Button for particularly undesirableadvertising. This feature can be implemented as permanent commercialskipping for the particular advertisement. This information can betransmitted back to the advertiser 150. If insufficient advertisingsubsidy remains to meet the subscriber's 105 requested subsidy, the CPE110 can flash up on a display the cost impact of the commercial skip,indicate that additional advertisements might be needed to be viewed tomake up for the skipped advertisement, or a combination of the two.

The Pause/Resume action can be implemented with the CPE 110. When thesubscriber 105 presses and activates the Pause/Resume button on a remoteof the CPE 110 (using a remote control), the CPE 110 can immediatelypause the multimedia content and/or advertisement at that point, andcapture and saves the content state (including the ToD and Tcs). Thetime of action Ta is the content elapsed time from Tcs (when the contentwas paused). Additionally, a ToD can be assigned to the time of action.If the Ta of the resume minus the Ta of the pause is less than or equalto a maximum allowed pause interval, then the subscriber 105 can resumethe viewing of the multimedia content and/or advertisement. If the Ta ofthe resume minus the Ta of the pause is greater than this maximumallowed pause interval, then the resume functionality causes a new tokento be issued by the distribution gateway 150 and the viewing of themultimedia content and/or advertisement resumes from the exact point ofthe pause. If the current ToD minus the Tcs exceeds the subscriber's 105purchased viewing window, a new token purchase can be required. Thisdecision can be provided as an option from the content provider 140. Thesubscriber actions, including play, pause, resume, fast forward, rewind,and ad-skip, can be reported to the system processor 128 of the systemand services gateway 120 based on the time of action. The CPE 110 cancapture and report actual multimedia content and advertisement viewingstatistics in real-time and/or near real-time for use by the systemprocessor 128 of the system and services gateway 120. In addition, allinteractions with the subscriber web interface can be reported to thesystem processor 128.

The distribution gateway 130 can include a content packetizer 132 and acontrol and status module 134. The distribution gateway 130 can monitorand manage, e.g., subscriber 105 usage of multimedia content and dataper CPE 110, billing data per CPE 110, key(s)/token(s) to enableindividual CPEs 110 to record and display content, and changes in a CPE110 router IP address as dynamic addresses changes. In addition, thedistribution gateway 130 can supply a subscriber 105 web interface. Theweb interface can allow the subscriber 105 to select multimedia contentand set preferences, to control overall monthly charges, generateadvertisement insertion instructions, and provide a VPN bank to servicethe associated CPEs 110. The content packetizer 132 can deliverencrypted multimedia content and advertising (either encrypted orun-encrypted) to the CPE 110. In addition, the subscriber 105 may accessthe subscriber 105 web interface via the CPE 110 to request contentplay, request multimedia content recommendations, etc.

The distribution gateway 130 can have a large front end storage to holdseveral million hours, or more, of frequently accessed multimediacontent and current advertising. In addition, the front end storage canbe used to buffer archived multimedia content, from the archive gateway122, that is less frequently accessed. This approach can be done toallow all encrypted multimedia content transfers to be handledidentically, whether current or archived. The actual sizing of the frontend storage is an on-going process and can regularly be calculated inthe system processor 128 to trade off and optimize cost for localstorage vs. transportation infrastructure delivery prices to minimizeexpenses for archived or “infrequent” multimedia content access. Thisprocess can add, delete, and move multimedia content between the archivegateway 122 and the distribution gateway 130.

The control and status module 134 can provide the overall coordinationof the distribution gateway 130. The control and status module 130 canensure that a subscriber 105 data use monitor, a local audit function,usage tracking and billing function, a token/Key manager, the subscriberweb interface, advertising control, the VPN bank, and the contentpacketizer 132 all operate together without problems.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example interactive, bidirectional-exchange ofinformation between the CPE 110 and the distribution gateway 130, andbetween the CPE 110 and the subscriber 105, in accordance with one ormore possible embodiments.

All aspects of pricing can be handled outside of the CPE 110. The CPE110, if requested, can display the current and projected monthly billingcycle charges. In addition, a front panel LED can be set to displaydifferent colors based on used and projected multimedia content chargesset against a selected threshold of the subscriber 105. As an example,green might indicate less than 75% of the selected dollar thresholdutilized, yellow might indicate 76 to 100% of the selected dollarthreshold utilized, and red may indicate over 100% of the selecteddollar threshold utilized.

The distribution gateway 130 can receive, via the CPE 110, a subscriber105 request for multimedia content. The subscriber 105 can send arequest for multimedia content via a website or a user interface of theCPE 110. In response to such a request, the distribution gateway 130 cantransmit to the subscriber 105, via the CPE 110, a plurality of pricesassociated with delivery of the requested multimedia content. Theplurality of prices associated with the delivery can be based on acontent provider 140 price for the multimedia content, an amount oflead-time of electronic delivery of the multimedia content, a time/datethe multimedia content is viewed or scheduled to be viewed with the CPE110, resolution of the multimedia content and/or a quality of themultimedia content. The plurality of prices can include any subsidies(for example, advertisements) that the subscriber 105 may receive whenordering the multimedia content. In one or more embodiments, systemprocessor 128 can apply an additional subsidy to the subscriber contentprice based upon a demonstrated proof of a product purchase after thesubscriber 105 viewed an associated advertising. A value of theadditional subsidy can be based on whether the associated advertising isat least one of targeted, non-targeted, subscriber 105 requested,associated with a subscriber 105 identified cluster, and associated withan individual subscriber 105.

The subscriber 105 can initiate an order, via the CPE 110, to scheduledelivery of the multimedia content by transmitting an “order” includingselection of a price for delivery from the plurality of availableprices. In response to the distribution gateway 130 receiving the orderfor multimedia content, the distribution gateway 130 can transmit theordered multimedia content to the CPE 110 during a period when adelivery network of one or more of the transport providers 160 is beingunderutilized, for example midnight to 6 A.M. The CPE 110 can display amultimedia content conditions status page for the subscriber 105. TheCPE 110 can display when multimedia content will be available forviewing based on paid parameters. The CPE 110 can display an option forthe subscriber 105 to initiate immediate viewing of the multimediacontent, instead of waiting until the previously scheduled view time,for an additional fee.

The CPE 110 can inform the subscriber 105 that multimedia content isready for viewing on a display page listing available multimediacontent. The subscriber 105 can request to the view the multimediacontent by sending a request to the CPE 110. In one or more possibleembodiments, the subscriber 105 can hit play on the remote control 629of the CPE 110. In response to the subscriber 105 requesting to view themultimedia content, the CPE 110 can send a request to the distributiongateway 130 for a content token. As long as multimedia content viewingconditions are met, the distribution gateway 130 can respond to such arequest by sending a token unique to a requesting particular CPE 110identifier and the particular multimedia content about to be viewed bythe subscriber 105. The CPE 110 can receive such a unique token andbegin display of selected multimedia content.

The multimedia system 101 can provide for interactive,bidirectional-exchange of control information between the subscriber'sCPE 110 and the distribution gateway 130, for example within the VPN 505network infrastructure, as shown in FIG. 5. From a perspective of thesubscriber 105, this control can include downloaded multimedia contentidentification, subscriber viewing choices and preferences (general andcontent-specific), and additional control parameters that flow from theCPE 110 to the distribution gateway 130. From the perspective of thedistribution gateway 130, this control can include pricing based onsubscriber 105 choices and alternate pricing strategies, which can lowerthe price of multimedia content. Additional information (for example,billing) can also pass through the VPN 505.

FIG. 8 illustrates an example of subscriber 105 multimedia content pricetiming 800, in accordance with one or more possible embodiments. Thesubscriber 105 multimedia content price timing 800 illustrates atimeline 830 showing timing for events from an earlier time to a latertime comprising: a date/time of multimedia content is available forselection (start-time) 840, a date/time that multimedia contentselection 850, a date/time that multimedia content is available 860 forviewing on the CPE 110, and a date/time that multimedia content isscheduled to be viewed (view-time) 870 on the CPE 110.

The subscriber content price sequence 800 can include a multimediacontent provider 140 price curve 810 and a content delivery price curve820. The content provider 140 price curve 810 can decrease as a functionof the length of time from a date/time of multimedia content isavailable for selection (start-time) 840. The content provider 140 pricecurve 810 can decrease from a start price 875 that can be established ata time the multimedia content is made available for selection 840. Thecontent delivery price, as shown with curve 820, can increase ordecrease as function of lead-time (the length of time between thedate/time of multimedia content selection 850 and the date/time ofmultimedia content is required to be available 860 on the CPE 110).

The system processor 128 can determine a lead-time by taking adifference between the time of the date/time of multimedia content beingavailable 860 and the date/time of multimedia content selection 850. Thecontent delivery price 890 can be determined at any instantaneous timeon the content delivery price curve 820 that intersects with thedate/time of multimedia content selection 850. In accordance with theprinciples disclosed herein, the system processor 128 can determine thelead-time and delivery time(s) that will result in the lowest price todeliver the multimedia content to the CPE 110. The system processor 128can determine the lead-time as hours, days, a week, two-weeks, a month,quarterly for a year, and/or any other period of time that can optimizethe delivery price of the multimedia content and as an outcome of this,optimizes the bandwidth of the delivery infrastructure provided by oneor more transport providers 160. The multimedia content can be deliveredall at once or in segmented portions to the CPE 110. The multimediacontent can be delivered throughout the lead-time period to bereassembled at the CPE 110 upon completion of the delivery to the CPE110.

The system processor 128 can determine a view-delay by taking adifference between the date/time of multimedia content is planned to beviewed (view-time) 870 and the date/time of multimedia content isavailable for selection (start-time) 840. The multimedia content price885 can be determined at any instantaneous time on the content provider140 price curve 810 that intersects with the date/time of multimediacontent is planned to be viewed (view-time) 870. The system processor128 can determine a subscriber 105 content price by adding a contentprovider 140 price and a content delivery price for transporting themultimedia content via one or more transport providers 160. The contentprovider 140 price is a function of a time at which the multimediacontent is scheduled to be viewed and the actual start time for themultimedia content. The content delivery price can be a function of thelead-time of delivery via the transport provider 160 to the CPE 110.

FIG. 9 illustrates a functional block diagram of the example CPE 110, inaccordance with one or more possible embodiments. The top half of FIG. 9illustrates the control and status interaction with the subscriber 105and distribution gateway 130. This interaction (listed in Tables 1through 4) can include a subscriber web interface for setting upsubscriber preferences, request multimedia content recommendations andselection(s), and billing. The distribution gateway 130 interfacecontrols the preloading of content and advertising to the CPE 110, thecontrol of content playback and advertising insertion, and CPE 110 usagefor customer billing. The lower left hand side of FIG. 9 illustrates theinterfaces that can load content and advertising into the CPE storage616 via the delivery infrastructure (for example, the Internet and/orbroadcast infrastructure). The lower right hand of FIG. 9 illustratesthe playback control and assembly of video streams to multiple displaysresponding to subscriber 105 requests.

The CPE 110 can encrypt all information passing through external displayinterfaces to increase the security of the CPE 110. An externalinterface encryption key can be unique to each CPE 110 and particularmultimedia content. The CPE 110 can be manufactured with a special epoxyor other adhesive to prevent integrated circuit (IC) delidding thatcould allow the internal decryption keys to be read.

The CPE 110 can maintain a log of all CPE 110 events to provide viewinghistorical feedback about/for the subscriber 105. This can include alist of all content advertising viewed, graphical representation ofcost/price as a function of time, price or program rating histograms, orother useful feedback. This historical feedback can be on a per profilebasis or as a profile summary for the CPE 110.

FIG. 10 illustrates example interaction between the advertiser 150 andthe system controller 126, and between the system controller 126 andinternal subsystems of the system and services gateway 120, inaccordance with one or more possible embodiments.

The advertiser 150 can transmit an advertising pricing request to thesystem controller 126. In response to such a request, the systemcontroller 126 can pass such information to the system processor 128 toinitiate an advertising pricing analysis. The system processor 128 cananalyze requested advertising parameter(s), AQoS request, and AIQoS. Thesystem processor 128 can transmit advertising pricing analysis resultsto the system controller 126. The system controller 126 can transmit theadvertising pricing analysis results to the advertiser 150. Theadvertiser 150 can approve pricing for advertising by transmittingapproval to the system controller 126. The system controller 126 cantransmit such an approval to the billing and payment module 124.

The system controller 126 can transmit a request to the advertiser 150to enable/start an advertising download. The system controller 126 canenable the archive gateway 122 to receive the advertising for storage.The advertiser 150 can transmit the advertising and associatedparameters to the archive gateway 122 via the system controller 126. Thesystem controller 126 can reallocate distribution gateway 130 resourcesbased on new advertising. The system controller 126 can transfer theadvertising from the archive gateway 122 to selected distributiongateway(s) 210 and send instructions to the distribution gateway(s) 210to purge any advertisements that are no longer being used by theadvertisers 150.

FIG. 11 illustrates an example interaction between the transportprovider 160 and the system controller 126, and between the systemcontroller 126 and internal subsystems of the system and servicesgateway 120, in accordance with one or more possible embodiments.

The transport provider 160 can receive a request for bandwidth resourcesfrom the system controller 126. The transport provider 160 can evaluatethe request for bandwidth and respond with a pricing bid to the systemcontroller 126. The pricing bid can include initial pricing of thebandwidth requested, available bandwidth, and any other parametersrequired to satisfy the request for bandwidth resources. The systemcontroller 126 can initiate an analysis of delivery pricing bytransmitting the delivery pricing bid to the system processor 128. Thesystem processor 128 can analyze potential pricing, popularity, andrevenue for all participants, content providers, transport providers,and advertisers, individually and jointly. The system processor 128 cansend results of the delivery pricing analysis to the system controller126.

The system controller 126 can transmit the pricing analysis results tothe transport provider 160. The transport provider 160 can evaluate theelectronic delivery pricing analysis and respond to the systemcontroller 126 with negotiated transport pricing. The system controller126 can pass the negotiated delivery pricing to the system processor128. The system processor 128 can select a transport provider 160, adelivery price, and a delivery schedule. The system processor 128 canpass the transport provider 160, the delivery price, and the deliveryschedule to the system controller 126 which transmits such informationto a particular transport provider 160. The particular transportprovider 160 can respond to such information by transmitting, to thesystem processor 128 via the system controller 126, an approval of thedelivery price and the delivery schedule. The system processor 128 canschedule multimedia content delivery and pass the scheduled multimediacontent delivery to the system controller 126. The system controller 126can pass the ultimate delivery pricing to the billing and payment module124.

FIG. 12 illustrates an example subscriber web interface 1200 displayingpreference/price impact, in accordance with one or more possibleembodiments.

The subscriber web interface 1200 can display monthly billing cost as afunction of a number of ads per hour, lead-time, content viewing delay,and advertisement preferences. Each variable can be independentlydisplayed showing the cost/price impact of the preference selection bythe subscriber 105. Preferences can be set for all content, desiredgroupings of multimedia content, particular multimedia content for thesubscriber 105 account, or can be further subdivided by individualprofile. The subscriber 105 can also adjust price as an independentvariable. The subscriber web interface 1200 can include an advertisementsubsidy box 1210, an advertisement slide control 1220, a lead-time slidecontrol 1230, a delayed viewing period since release slide control 1240,an advertisement preferences slide control 1250, a subscriber maximumcost slide control 1260, and a resolution and/or quality slide control1270. The subscriber 105 can change any of the slide controls 1220,1230, 1240, 1250, 1260, and 1270 and view a price result of suchchanges.

The subscriber web interface 1200 can further include subscriberselectable groupings. For example, the content class buttons 1280 canallow a subscriber 105 to set the groupings of multimedia content. Thegroupings can include classes of what particular multimedia content thesubscriber 105 would make selections from. System defined contentclasses (for example, a default content class) can include selectionsfor all, movie/TV, news, sports, and custom. As an example, subscriber105 defined content class could include Movie/TV which would overridethe All Class setting for Movie/TV content. In addition, an individualmultimedia content class would set a custom setting for a particular TVseries which would override the Movie/TV settings for that particularseries. The subscriber 105 web interface 1200 can further includeaccount information 1290 for the subscriber 105, such as nominal billingperiod hours left information, period estimated data usage information,and ISP data cap information.

The advertisement subsidy box 1210 can display, for the subscriber 105,a maximum cost/price set by the subscriber 105. The advertisementsubsidy box 1210 can display a cost/price for particular multimediacontent as a function of a number of advertisements that the subscriber105 accepts to be viewed while watching the multimedia content. Theadvertisement slide control 1220 can allow the subscriber 105 to set anumber of advertisements to be viewed within a given period of time (forexample, per hour). Changes made to the advertisement slide control 1220can be viewed in the advertisement subsidy box 1210.

The lead-time slide control 1230 can allow the subscriber 105 to controla maximum amount of delay (lead-time) before multimedia content is to besent to the CPE 110. The delayed viewing period since release slidecontrol 1240 can allow the subscriber 105 to control a number ofdays/months until the CPE 110 allows the subscriber 105 to viewparticular multimedia content. Advertisement preferences slide control1250 can allow the subscriber 105 to control a number of advertisementsthat are inserted into the multimedia content and presented to thesubscriber 1250 when viewing particular multimedia content. Thesubscriber max cost slide control 1260 can allow the subscriber 105 toadjust a maximum cost that the subscriber 105 will accept for a givenbilling period. The subscriber web interface 1200 can include theresolution and/or quality slide control 1270 to allow the subscriber 105to select a resolution and/or quality for particular multimedia content.The lead-time slide control 1230 is illustrated as allowing a subscriber105 to set the lead-time as an exemplary maximum of 3 days. However, themaximum lead-time that the lead-time slide control 1230 can allow thesubscriber 105 to set can be any number of days that provides adequateflexibility to the subscriber 105. For example, the lead-time slidecontrol 1230 can allow the subscriber 105 to set the lead-time to aweek, two-weeks, a month, quarterly for a year, and/or any other periodof time that can optimize the delivery price of the multimedia contentfor the subscriber 105.

The subscriber 105 can also manually adjust their control parameters,including cost, for specific subscriber 105 or system defined classes ofcontent for their viewing experience. These classes can be defined forindividual pieces of multimedia content, a content series, or selectedsubset of content that can include, as examples, newer television, oldertelevision, live sports, movies, etc. and/or can provide furtherrefinements of class such as movie, action, etc.

FIG. 13 illustrates an example video time-bandwidth product improvement(VTBPI) system, in accordance with one or more embodiments. The VTBPIsystem 1300 can include the hardware components illustrated in FIGS.1-3, 5, 6, and 9 discussed above and further include an aggregationdistribution gateway 1330, a delivery infrastructure 1340 provided byone or more transport providers 160, a high speed content decryptionmodule 610, a video decompressor module 1370, a content reassemblymodule 608, and a CPE 110 control & status module 612. The aggregationdistribution gateway 1330 can be coupled to the distribution gateway 130and receive multiple content, for example from multimedia contentbroadcasters 1320, 1322, and 1324 and advertising broadcasters 1310 and1312. A content broadcaster 1320, 1322 and 1324 can also operate as anadvertiser broadcaster 1310 and 1312. When a distribution gateway 130implements the aggregation functionality disclosed herein, such adistribution gateway 130 can be designated as the aggregationdistribution gateway 1330. The delivery infrastructure 1340 can includeat least one of multicast infrastructure, over-the-air infrastructure,cable infrastructure, satellite infrastructure, and/or any otherone-to-many delivery infrastructures. The aggregation distributiongateway 1330 that can include a system processor 1332, an externalinterface 1334, a system controller 1336, and a video aggregator 1338.At least one transport provider 160 can utilize the deliveryinfrastructure 1340 to deliver content to CPEs 110 using at least one ofa broadcast, unicast, multicast, torrent, peer-to-peer, and mesharchitecture. Distribution of content (multimedia and/or advertisingcontent) to CPE 110 via the delivery infrastructure 1340 is referencedherein as a VTBPI broadcast.

In accordance with one or more embodiments, the aggregation distributiongateway 1330 can implement VTBPI to automatically record multimediacontent programs that will be repeated within a specified period oftime, for example those that repeat within a 24 hour period. Once themultimedia content is initially recorded (with or withoutadvertisements) by the CPE 110, if the subscriber 105 tunes to adelivery channel when a repeated show was scheduled to be broadcast viaa transport provider 160, the CPE 110 can reconstruct the multimediacontent programs from the previously recorded multimedia content with nodiscernible viewing experience difference to the subscriber 105 ascompared to watching a conventional “broadcast” program, also knownwithin the art as a linear TV program. During the “repeat time” of agiven multimedia content program, the aggregation distribution gateway1330, via delivery infrastructure 1340 that can include one or more ofsatellite, cellular, wired, and/or (Over-the-Air(OTA), may insteadinsert other information, such as public service announcements,multimedia content, or multimedia advertising into a transmission to theCPE 110.

The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can release additionalbandwidth via the VTBPI process disclosed herein to download to aspecific CPE 110 or groups of CPEs 110 defined by one or moredemographic clusters for advertising, advertising insertioninstructions, and/or any other data to the CPE 110. This downloadinformation may also be transmitted to the CPE 110 with the aggregatedstream, via the Internet, or similar structure. The extra bandwidth thatis released by use of the aggregation distribution gateway 1330implementing VTBPI may be used to download higher resolution and/orhigher quality multimedia content for display with the CPE 110, as partof an enhanced broadcast, a subscription service, and/or ala cartemultimedia content viewing service provided by the CPE 110 for thesubscriber 105. The video aggregator 1338 of aggregation distributiongateway 1330 can multiplex broadcast multimedia content together withthe multimedia content scheduled to be delivered within the scheduledlead-time discussed above. The scheduled lead-time is discussed above inrelation to FIGS. 1-12. The video aggregator 1338 can further multiplexan advertisement together with the multimedia content, the advertisementbeing scheduled for delivered to the CPE 110 prior to presentation tothe subscriber 105. Such an advertisement can be delivered, by thesystem controller 1336 of the aggregation distribution gateway 1330, tothe CPE 110 separately from the multimedia content. The systemcontroller 1336 of the aggregation distribution gateway 1330 cantransmits an advertising insertion instruction to the CPE 110instructing the CPE 110 where to insert the advertisement into themultimedia content. The system controller 1336 can further deliver themultiplexed broadcast multimedia content together with multimediacontent delivered within the scheduled lead-time.

The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can further reduce therequired spectrum for a given delivery channel of the CPE 110 byeliminating the repetition of advertisements. The aggregationdistribution gateway 1330 can maximize the VTBPI process for a givenregion by combining the multimedia content broadcasts of multiplechannels. Such a broadcast aggregation process can be implemented usinga subset of the distribution gateways 130 or via the aggregationdistribution gateway 1330. The aggregation performed by the aggregationdistribution gateway 1330 and/or the distribution gateway(s) 130 can becombined with advanced video compression algorithms for even greatertime-bandwidth product improvement. The VTBPI combined with advancedvideo compression can provide a bandwidth efficiency improvement of over3:1 compared to current OTA HDTV transmission.

The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can more efficiently utilizeRF spectrum from existing over-the-air broadcasters from the transportproviders 160. The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can makeadditional spectrum available for other wireless applications todelivery multimedia content. The aggregation distribution gateway 1330can aggregate multiple broadcast channels, including encrypted content,advertising and channel control information, into a reduced number ofchannels. In one or more embodiments, the aggregation distributiongateway 1330 can aggregate multiple broadcast channels into a singlechannel stream for delivery to the CPE 110. The aggregation distributiongateway 1330 can delivery such information via the deliveryinfrastructure 1340. The channel control information can includeadvertising insertion instructions, regional overlays, logical channelassignment, program schedule, specific CPE 110 address disableinstruction, and any other information to control the CPE 110.

The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can receive multimedia contentfrom multiple content broadcasters 1320, 1322, and 1324 and multiplexthat multimedia content into a reduced number of channels. For example,multimedia content from content broadcasters 1320, 1322, and 1324 can bemultiplexed into any two of the channels of the broadcasters 1320, 1322,and 1324. Thus, multiplexing multimedia content from three contentbroadcasters 1320, 1322, or 1324 into reduced number of channels canfree up the spectrum of the third channel for other wirelessapplications by eliminating the repeated delivery of advertisements. ForOTA delivery, multiple aggregation distribution gateways 1330 can beused in areas with overlapping coverage. For satellite, cellular, and/orcable delivery, a single aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can beused for areas of overlapping coverage. The aggregation distributiongateway 1330 can provide a low speed control channel with a higher levelof encryption delivered as a separate channel or multiplexed into themultimedia content channel. The aggregation distribution gateway 1330can assemble the multimedia content into logical channels for reassemblyby the CPE 110 once received. For each aggregation channel, the lowspeed control channel can provide the video channel data rate, logicalchannel definition, content decryption keys, and any other informationthat can be used to control video reassembly for each aggregation ofmultimedia content in the CPE 110. The control channel can be used toprovide a multilayer authentication process to improve the encryptionprotection of the multimedia content that can be tied to the specificCPE 110. The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can transmit abroadcast decryption key and a CPE 110 specific encryption keyassociated with particular multimedia content and the particular CPE 110and used to encrypt the multimedia content prior to storage in the CPE110.

The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can receive an advertisingschedule and forward the advertising schedule via the advertisinginsertion instructions to the CPE 110. The advertising insertioninstructions can be delivered at any time prior to viewing of theadvertising with the CPE 110 of the subscriber 105. The delivery of theadvertisements can be 1) multiplexed with an aggregated video channel,2) included with the low speed control channel and/or 3) delivered viathe Internet. Advertising delivery can be performed as required withadvertisements being repeatedly played from the internal storage 616and/or the NAS device 624 of the CPE 110. The aggregation distributiongateway 1330 can also generate advertising insertion instructions on aper channel basis, as well as per subscriber 105. The CPE 110 cangenerate reassembled multimedia content based on the informationincluded in the advertising insertion instructions. Regardless of theresolution of the content channel, the CPE 110 can insert advertising ata same or higher resolution than the channel's content resolution. Inthe event of a storage 616 and/or 624 failure in the CPE 110, the CPE110 can insert recently received, non-targeted advertising into thereassembled video stream.

The transport providers 160 can have different operational modesdependent on a particular delivery infrastructure 1340 being used. Forexample, in the case of OTA there may be multiple transport (aggregatedbroadcast) antennas for a given area. For satellite delivery, multiplesatellites can be used with a single aggregation distribution gateway1330. For cellular delivery, multiple cellular providers can service asingle aggregation distribution gateway 1330. For cable delivery,delivery can rely on an existing wiring infrastructure currently inplace.

The CPE receiver 1360 of the CPE 110 can be multichannel and candemodulate received data. The buffering and storage of the multimediacontent and advertisements is under control of the CPE 110 control &status module (CCSM) 612. The CPE receiver 1360 associated with theVTBPI can receive a high data rate digital data that can bedemultiplexed to isolate the individual channels. With the tuner/cablecard 614 in the CPE 110, the tuner/cable card 614 can demodulateindividual channels. Certain implementations of tuners/cable cards 614can operate as a multi-channel tuner, with such implementations stilloperating on individual channels. The demodulation and storage can bedone automatically by the CPE 110 for all aggregated broadcastsreceived. The video demultiplexer 1350 can demultiplex the demodulatedcontent, the demodulated content being multimedia content and/oradvertising content. Once a subscriber 105 selects a given channel forplayback, the CCSM 612 can send content decryption keys received by theCCSM 612 to the decryptor module 610 for processing that particularchannel at the start time of the multimedia content defined by thecontent broadcaster 1320, 1322, and/or 1324. After decryption, videodecompressor 1370 of the CPE 110 can decompress the multimedia contentand provide such decompressed multimedia content to the contentreassembly module 608. This same process can be implemented foradvertisements. The content reassembly module 608 can use theadvertising insertion instructions to insert the advertisements into themultimedia content to emulate standard television broadcasting thatserially transmits the advertisements with associated multimediacontent. The content reassembly module 608 can use the advertisinginsertion instructions to insert the advertisements into the multimediacontent to provide advertising that is tailored to the subscriber 105.

The CPE 110 can report its video and control link reliability (satelliteor enhanced OTA operation) when feedback is available via a datanetwork, for example, Internet, satellite Internet, a back channel,cellular, and/or any other data network that allows reporting of thereliability. Such reliability information can be reported todistribution gateway. This feedback can be used to calculate, prior tomultimedia content viewing, a need to rebroadcast critical controlinformation, reformulate transmitter beam patterns, or any otherinformation/functions to improve overall link reliability.

Table 9 lists VTBPI broadcast transmission options. These options caninclude a single multimedia content broadcaster and/or a singleadvertiser broadcaster with multiple sub-channels, cooperative contentbroadcasters that can form their own aggregations, and/or regionalbroadcast aggregator.

TABLE 9 VTBPI Options Option Description Single A single broadcasterwith multiple sub-channels can Broadcaster reduce a required RF spectrumby eliminating transmission of repeated advertisements. Cooperative Forexample, three broadcasters can operate using the Broadcaster spectrumof two broadcasters by eliminating the Aggregation embeddedadvertisements (~⅓ of the broadcast time) and the CPE can reinsertadvertisements in the displayed video stream. Regional A regionalbroadcast aggregator can combine the Broadcast content from multiplebroadcasters into a high data Aggregator(s) stream or streams toaggregate many channels. This method can also reduce the number oftuners required in a CPE and reduce the amount of spectrum used forfrequency guard bands. National A national broadcast aggregator cancombine the Broadcast content from multiple broadcasters into a highdata Aggregator(s) stream or streams to aggregate many channels that mayprovide regional and national coverage. This method can also reduce thenumber of tuners required in a CPE and reduce the amount of spectrumused for frequency guard bands.

The options shown in Table 9 can be implemented in a subset of thedistribution gateway 130 to pre-deliver VTBPI multimedia content to CPEs110. A subset of the CPE 110 functionality previously described hereincan be used to implement VTBPI functionality. A subset of thedistribution gateway 130 functionality described herein can be locatedwithin a broadcaster's facility. The video aggregation disclosed hereincan allow for use of logical channels, such that the subscriber 105 canuse the same use currently assigned HDTV OTA or satellite channel thatthe subscriber 105 are already accustomed to using. The channel numberis simply an arbitrary logical channel from the standpoint of the CPE110, however such a channel number can provide for backwardscompatibility that reduces subscriber retraining. The use of cooperativeand regional broadcast aggregation disclosed herein can further reducespectrum use by eliminating the need for spectral guard bands betweenindividual channels.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example VTBPI timetable, in accordance with oneor more embodiments. FIG. 14 shows an example VTBPI timetable in whichthe aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can delivery three (3)programs of multimedia content, that conventionally included embeddedadvertisements, in the time-bandwidth product that is conventionallyrequired to delivery two (2) programs of multimedia content. Theaggregation distribution gateway 1330 can implement VTBPI, as discussedabove, to deliver multimedia content to the CPE 110 with individualmultimedia content being broken into smaller blocks, which can minimizean amount of storage required in at least one of the internal storage616 and the NAS 624 device of the CPE 110 for buffering. As themultimedia content blocks become sufficiently small, the operation ofmultimedia content block delivery approaches the operation of astatistical multiplexor. The removal of advertising provides nearly 50%improvement in bandwidth efficiency compared to a statisticalmultiplexor with embedded advertising.

The aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can coordinate the VTBPIfunctions disclosed herein with the functions performed by thedistribution gateway 130 discussed above for FIGS. 1-12. For example,the aggregation distribution gateway 1330 can coordinate its functionswith the distribution gateway 130 to transmit the aggregated andmultiplexed multimedia content within the lead-time determined by thesystem and services gateway 130 and by at least one transport provider160. In addition, the pricing of multimedia content as a function of theview-time, as well as, subscriber 105 preference operation discussedabove can be included in the functionality of the aggregationdistribution gateway 1330, with, as discussed above, the systemprocessor 128 may be implemented in the distribution gateway 130 and nowreferred to as the aggregation distribution gateway 1330.

FIG. 15 illustrates a flowchart of an example method 1500 oftransmitting VTBPI multimedia content, in accordance with one or morepossible embodiments. The method 1500 is not limited to the exampleblocks shown and can include any of the processes performed by themultimedia delivery system 100.

The method 1500 can begin with block 1510. The method 1500 can begin byreceiving multimedia content directed to a plurality of CPEs 110. Theexternal interface 1334 of the aggregation distribution gateway 1330 canreceive multimedia content that is directed to a plurality of CPEs 110from one or more of the content broadcasters 1320, 1322, and 1324. Suchmultimedia content received with the external interface 1334 can includeadvertisements received from one or more of the advertising broadcasters1310 and 1312. Block 1510 can proceed to block 1520.

At block 1520, the method 1500 can multiplex multimedia content. Thevideo aggregator 1338 of the aggregation distribution gateway 1330 canmultiplex the multimedia content directed to the plurality of CPEs 110received in block 1510. Block 1520 can proceed to block 1530.

At block 1530, the method 1500 can electronically deliver the multimediacontent. The system controller 1336 of the aggregation distributiongateway 1330 can electronically deliver the multiplexed multimediacontent, within a scheduled lead-time, in response to a subscriber 105request to electronically deliver the multimedia content to a particularCPE 110 from the plurality of CPEs that the multimedia content wasdirected to. A subscriber 105 content price of the multiplexedmultimedia content can be based on the scheduled lead-time of electronicdelivery to the particular CPE 110.

Although the embodiments are directed toward the delivery of multimediacontent, the teachings of the embodiments can be applied to anyelectronic paid content being served over a network or encryptedbroadcast. The embodiments can be extended to traditional print media,on-line training, etc. One or more of the embodiments can even use amicro-payment system.

It should be understood that, notwithstanding the particular steps asshown in the figures, a variety of additional or different steps can beperformed depending upon the embodiment, and one or more of theparticular steps can be rearranged, repeated or eliminated entirelydepending upon the embodiment. Also, some of the steps performed can berepeated on an ongoing or continuous basis simultaneously while othersteps are performed. Furthermore, different steps can be performed bydifferent elements or in a single element of the disclosed embodiments.

While this disclosure has been described with specific embodimentsthereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, andvariations will be apparent to those skilled in the art. For example,various components of the embodiments may be interchanged, added, orsubstituted in the other embodiments. Also, all of the elements of eachfigure are not necessary for operation of the disclosed embodiments. Forexample, one of ordinary skill in the art of the disclosed embodimentswould be enabled to make and use the teachings of the disclosure bysimply employing the elements of the independent claims. Accordingly,embodiments of the disclosure as set forth herein are intended to beillustrative, not limiting. Various changes may be made withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the disclosure.

In this document, relational terms such as “first,” “second,” and thelike may be used solely to distinguish one entity or action from anotherentity or action without necessarily requiring or implying any actualsuch relationship or order between such entities or actions. The phrase“at least one of” followed by a list is defined to mean one, some, orall, but not necessarily all of, the elements in the list. The terms“comprises,” “comprising,” or any other variation thereof, are intendedto cover a non-exclusive inclusion, such that a process, method,article, or apparatus that comprises a list of elements does not includeonly those elements but may include other elements not expressly listedor inherent to such process, method, article, or apparatus. An elementproceeded by “a,” “an,” or the like does not, without more constraints,preclude the existence of additional identical elements in the process,method, article, or apparatus that comprises the element. Also, the term“another” is defined as at least a second or more. The terms“including,” “having,” and the like, as used herein, are defined as“comprising.” Furthermore, the background section is written as theinventor's own understanding of the context of some embodiments at thetime of filing and includes the inventor's own recognition of anyproblems with existing technologies and/or problems experienced in theinventor's own work.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: an external interface to receivemultimedia content directed to a plurality of customer premisesequipment; a video aggregator to multiplex the multimedia contentdirected to the plurality of customer premises equipment; and a systemcontroller to electronically deliver the multiplexed multimedia content,within a scheduled lead-time, in response to a subscriber request toelectronically deliver the multimedia content to a particular customerpremises equipment from the plurality of customer premises equipment, asubscriber content price of the multiplexed multimedia content beingbased on the scheduled lead-time of electronic delivery.
 2. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein the system controllerelectronically delivers the multiplexed multimedia content via at leastone transport provider servicing the customer premises equipment, the atleast one transport provider using at least one of broadcast, unicast,multicast, torrent, peer-to-peer, and mesh architecture.
 3. Theapparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the video aggregator furthermultiplexes broadcast multimedia content together with the multimediacontent scheduled to be delivered within the scheduled lead-time; andthe system controller further delivers the multiplexed broadcastmultimedia content together with the multimedia content delivered withinthe scheduled lead-time.
 4. The apparatus according to claim 1, whereinthe subscriber content price is further based on a time/date themultimedia content is scheduled to be viewed with the particularcustomer premise equipment.
 5. The apparatus according to claim 1,wherein the video aggregator further multiplexes an advertisementtogether with the multimedia content, the advertisement being scheduledfor delivery to the customer premises equipment prior to presentation tothe subscriber.
 6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein thesystem controller further transmits, to the particular customer premiseequipment, decryption information and unique re-encryption informationassociated with the particular customer premises equipment andparticular multimedia content to allow the particular customer premisesequipment to decrypt and uniquely re-encrypt the particular multimediacontent and, in response to a subscriber request to play the multimediacontent, transmits a unique decryption key to the particular customerpremise equipment to allow the particular customer premises equipment todecrypt and present the particular multimedia content to the subscriber.7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the system processorfurther updates a subscriber content price for the multimedia contentbased on at least one of selecting the multimedia content for viewing,and selecting a time/date for viewing of the multimedia content, andmodifying at least one of a time/date the multimedia content isscheduled to be viewed, the scheduled lead-time of electronic delivery,a maximum price for a billing period, an allowed amount of advertisingto be inserted in the multimedia content, a multimedia contentresolution, and targeted, non-targeted, and subscriber requestedadvertising types to be inserted into the multimedia content; and thesystem controller further transmits, to the customer premise equipment,the updated subscriber content price for the multimedia based on themodification.
 8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein theapparatus is at least partially implemented with at least one of a localcomputing, mobile computing, distributed computing, and cloud-computingarchitecture.
 9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein: the videoaggregator further multiplexes an advertisement with the multimediacontent; and the external interface further delivers the advertisementto the customer premises equipment separately from the multimediacontent and transmits an advertising insertion instruction to thecustomer premises equipment instructing the customer premises equipmentwhere to insert the advertisement into the multimedia content.
 10. Amethod, comprising: receiving, with an external interface, multimediacontent directed to a plurality of customer premises equipment;multiplexing, with a video aggregator, the multimedia content directedto the plurality of customer premises equipment; and electronicallydelivering, with a system controller, the multiplexed multimediacontent, within a scheduled lead-time, in response to a subscriberrequest to electronically deliver the multimedia content to a particularcustomer premises equipment from the plurality of customer premisesequipment, a subscriber content price of the multiplexed multimediacontent being based on the scheduled lead-time of electronic delivery.11. The method according to claim 10, wherein electronically delivery,with the system controller, of the multiplexed multimedia content is viaat least one transport provider servicing the customer premisesequipment, the at least one transport provider using at least one ofbroadcast, unicast, multicast, torrent, peer-to-peer, and mesharchitecture.
 12. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:multiplexing, with the video aggregator, broadcast multimedia contenttogether with the multimedia content scheduled to be delivered withinthe scheduled lead-time; and delivering, with the system controller, themultiplexed broadcast multimedia content together with the multimediacontent delivered within the scheduled lead-time.
 13. The methodaccording to claim 10, wherein the subscriber content price is furtherbased on a time/date the multimedia content is scheduled to be viewedwith the particular customer premise equipment.
 14. The method accordingto claim 10, further comprising multiplexing, with the video aggregator,an advertisement together with the multimedia content, the advertisementbeing scheduled for delivery to the customer premises equipment prior topresentation to the subscriber.
 15. The method according to claim 10,further comprising transmitting, with the system controller and to theparticular customer premise equipment, decryption information and uniquere-encryption information associated with the particular customerpremises equipment and particular multimedia content to allow theparticular customer premises equipment to decrypt and uniquelyre-encrypt the particular multimedia content and, in response to asubscriber request to play the multimedia content, transmits a uniquedecryption key to the particular customer premise equipment to allow theparticular customer premises equipment to decrypt and present theparticular multimedia content to the subscriber.
 16. The methodaccording to claim 10, further comprising: updating, with the systemprocessor, a subscriber content price for the multimedia content basedon at least one of selecting the multimedia content for viewing, andselecting a time/date for viewing of the multimedia content, andmodifying at least one of a time/date the multimedia content isscheduled to be viewed, the scheduled lead-time of electronic delivery,a maximum price for a billing period, an allowed amount of advertisingto be inserted in the multimedia content, a multimedia contentresolution, and targeted, non-targeted, and subscriber requestedadvertising types to be inserted into the multimedia content; andtransmitting, with the system controller and to the customer premiseequipment, the updated subscriber content price for the multimedia basedon the modification.
 17. The method according to claim 10, wherein theapparatus is at least partially implemented with at least one of a localcomputing, mobile computing, distributed computing, and cloud-computingarchitecture.
 18. The method according to claim 10, further comprising:multiplexing, with the video aggregator, an advertisement with themultimedia content; and delivering, with the external interface, theadvertisement to the customer premises equipment separately from themultimedia content and transmits an advertising insertion instruction tothe customer premises equipment instructing the customer premisesequipment where to insert the advertisement into the multimedia content.